You may have watched a fascinating video on social media of how a medical alert dog saved a life. But, what are service dogs and how are they different from other dogs? This article will tell you everything you need to know about a service dog.
What Are Service Dogs?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines service dogs as dogs trained to do certain tasks for people with disabilities. These disabilities can be visible or non-visible and may range from psychiatric, sensory, mental, and physical challenges.
The Act also allows these dogs full public access rights. That means their handlers are allowed to go with them in places where other regular dogs aren't. This includes access to medical facilities, restaurants, schools, housing that doesn't allow pets, and public transportation areas.
Service animals are trained to help their owners live normal and independent lives. Due to the nature of their tasks, service dogs are life savers. They're not your regular pets. They go through rigorous training to help keep their handlers safe and healthy.
Common Service Dog Breeds
Because of their life-saving tasks, an assistant dog must be intelligent, friendly, loving, and maintain a calm temperament no matter the situation.
There are several service dog breeds but the best are:
Border Collies
Golden Retrievers
Pomeranians
Poodles
Labradors
German Shepherds
Great Danes
Boxers
Types of Service Dogs
There are various types of service dogs, trained to deal with different tasks and challenges. They include:
Guide Dogs
Guide dogs help people who are blind or visually impaired to navigate the physical world giving them a sense of independence. They're trained to lead and guide their handlers through public spaces, streets, and obstacles.
One unique feature about service dogs is that they're trained to disobey unsafe commands from their handlers. This is known as intelligent or selective disobedience.
For instance, they may disobey a command to cross the street if they think crossing is unsafe for their humans. They're trained to make decisions based on their assessment of the situation and their surroundings.
Unlike other service dogs, guide dogs wear a special harness that their handlers grasp for support as they walk. Also, some wear vests with a “Don't pet me” label to avoid distractions while they're working.
Hearing Dogs
Hearing dogs help deaf people and those with hearing challenges. They identify and alert their owners of important sounds like sirens, alarms, doorbells, oven timers, approaching cars, and baby cries.
They'll then alert their owners with a paw or a gentle nudge and lead them to the source of the sound or away from it.
The popular breed for hearing dogs is Cocker Spaniels. They have a natural ability to recognize hand signals and pick up noises.
Mobility Assistance Dogs
As the name suggests, mobility assistance dogs help people with mobility challenges. They're often paired with people with brain injuries, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, arthritis, and muscular dystrophy.
These dogs assist their handlers with a variety of tasks including retrieving objects, fetching items, opening doors, turning on lights, dressing and undressing, pressing automatic buttons, and pulling wheelchairs.
Also, they help their handlers who struggle with balance. In such scenarios, the service dog has to be big enough to support their humans, like Labradors and Golden Retrievers. They're often fitted with a special harness to help them assist and support their owner.
Medical Alert Dogs
Medical alert dogs are like the jack of all trades in the service dog world. They're trained to detect, alert, and respond to various medical conditions like seizures (epilepsy), diabetes, Addison's disease, allergy, and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.
These dogs are trained to detect changes in odor in their humans and alert them of an upcoming medical emergency.
For diabetic alert dogs, they can sense a scent change in blood sugar levels and alert their owners to take action. Seizure alert dogs can sense a seizure before it happens. By alerting their humans, they can take medication, go to a safe place, or make a call before the seizure happens.
Depending on the training, a seizure service dog can either alert of an imminent seizure, or they can respond to the seizure by performing specific tasks during or after the emergency.
Such tasks include barking to alert others close by, using their bodies to prevent their owners from injury, and activating devices to alert emergency services. Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds are the best for these tasks.
Allergy detection dogs use their exceptional noses to sense and sniff even the smallest trace of potentially harmful allergens and alert their owners. This is crucial, especially for people who suffer fatal allergic reactions.
Psychiatric Service Dogs
A psychiatric service dog is trained for people who suffer from conditions like anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
A PTSD service dog can help their owners get out in the world, help them deal with anxiety, flashbacks, and nightmares, and take care of themselves.
Over the years, mental illness has become a global issue. That's where mental illness service dogs come in as they give emotional support to their owners.
Autism Assistance Dogs
As the name suggests, autism assistance dogs assist people with autism and other sensory challenges. They're trained to help their handlers navigate through their social environments.
For autistic children, who often tend to wander, these dogs help them stay on track and give them comfort from sensory stimulation.
Are Emotional Support Dogs Service Dogs?
Emotional support dogs aren't service dogs. Service dogs are recognized by law and have rights that emotional dogs don't. Also, service dogs are trained specifically for certain tasks and undergo rigorous training. They're working dogs, while emotional dogs aren’t.
Even though emotional service dogs give emotional support to their owners, they're not service dogs. They're considered regular pets not recognized and protected under the law.
Choosing the Right Service Dog
Assistance dogs are a valuable asset to their handlers. However, getting the right service dog isn't a walk in the park.
Some of the considerations to look out for in choosing the right service dog include:
Buy from a reputable service dog organization. This may be expensive but worth it
Go for breeds that are known for intelligence, friendliness, gentleness, loyalty, and dependability. Like Golden Retrievers, Labradors, and German Shepherds
Go for breeds that offer long-term assistance and have the least health complications
Final Thoughts
A service dog is an indispensable asset to people with disabilities and other health challenges. They help give them a sense of independence and help them live normal lives regardless of their challenges.
